Son of Hermes, Daughter of Demeter
by when-i-caught-myself
Summary: Travis Stoll has pranked the Demeter cabin... again. Katie Gardner hates his guts, but what will she feel after their post-curfew conversation later that night? More importantly, what will the other campers say about it? On hiatus until further notice.
1. Chapter 1: Pranks

**Son of Hermes, Daughter of Demeter**

**Chapter 1: Pranks**

Katie stared up at the Demeter cabin in awe. Her half-siblings gazed up at it as well, identical expressions of horror on their faces.

'Oh my gods. I swear, I will send him to the Underworld,' Katie thought. She looked again at the horrifying sight before them.

Someone... _someone_ had decided to 'decorate' Demeter cabin's grass roof with various species of slugs, beetles, and other creepy crawlies. The plants and grass that had once grown so well now looked horrible. Her cabinmates immediately rushed to tend to the roof.

Suddenly, Travis Stoll emerged from behind the cabin. Katie eyed him suspiciously. "Stoll!"

He heard her. "Uh... hey, Gardner! What's up?"

Katie didn't buy it for one minute. "Did you put those bugs on our roof?" she asked suspiciously.

"Um... of course... not! Yeah! I did not put those bugs on your roof." He tried his best to put on an angelic face.

Katie rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I totally believe that. There's a prank scene, I find _you_ hanging around, and I am _absolutely convinced_ you didn't do it."

"Yeah! Exactly that! I _so_ didn't—"

"Hey bro!" a cheerful voice called out. "I have those giant slugs you asked..." Connor Stoll saw his brother's predicament. "Whoa. Busted, man."

Katie looked at him. Travis could only stare at his brother in horror.

"Umm..." Connor scratched his nose. "I'm guessing this is a bad time?"

Travis gaped at him.

"I'll leave, I guess..."

Connor turned around and left quickly.

Katie looked at Travis with a murderous look.

"STOLL!"

He gulped. "Hey, Gardner. Tend your garden lately?"

"You're a loathsome worm of fetid soil!"

"Hey! I don't even know what half of those words even mean."

"You are so dense, even Atlas couldn't hold up your head!"

"So you're thinking about my head! I'll have you know, an incredibly handsome and daringly dashing face is found on this head—"

"Ugh!" Katie cried in exasperation. "Your head's so big it can see Mount Olympus when you're sitting down!"

"You know, you actually have some good insults, Gardner!" he quipped.

"Stop talking and let me insult you in peace, then!"

"Oh really, Gardner? I'd like to see you try!" he challenged.

Katie was taking a deep breath to hurl some sort of insulting comment at him when Travis did something unexpected: he kissed her, lightly and quickly. Katie was in shock.

"What was that?" she said, slightly out of breath.

He shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I didn't want to hear you insulting me." He looked up at the sky with an infuriatingly fake vacant stare. "Aphrodite made me do it."

Katie stamped her foot. "Travis Stoll, you are impossible!"

He smirked. "Impossibly hot, attractive, eye-pleasing—"

She glared at him. "If you say one more word, I swear to the gods I will—"

"What, Gardner? Agree wholeheartedly?"

Katie kept her eyes narrowed. She _was_ tempted to agree wholeheartedly, but nothing in Tartarus could ever convince her to admit it.

Travis' smirk grew larger. "So you _do_ agree? Funny, I could never tell."

Katie put her angry face back on. "I _so_ do not—"

But Katie was interrupted (again), because Travis had grabbed her chin and kissed her—hard.

Her eyes were open in shock, but her eyelids fluttered shut as Travis slipped an arm around her waist, and his other hand went to the back of her neck. Suddenly, and completely against her will, she found her left hand caressing his upper arm, and her right tangling in his hair and pulling him closer.

Katie's brain was going overload. A thousand electric lightning bolts arced through her body, and she was doing her best not to swoon and faint from happiness. But the last shred of common sense that had managed to barely hang on by its fingers was screaming at her to push him away and slap him silly. But the rest of her was just content to stay with him, like that, and just let it be.

Of course, common sense won her over.

Katie managed to pry herself away from Travis and reassert control of her mouth. "Travis Stoll!"

She could still taste his lips on hers. She tried her best to keep her feet on the ground, because she felt like floating amongst the clouds and jumping up and down in triumph. (Triumph in what, she didn't know—or refused to acknowledge.)

He smiled genuinely. "Katie? What was _that_?"

"What do you mean, _what was that?_ You know perfectly well what it was." Katie tried not to be distracted by the smudge of her strawberry lip balm on the corner of his mouth.

"Did you like it?"

"I—wait, what?" She was caught unawares.

"Did you like it?" he asked her quietly.

"Uh—" No doubt, she liked it. Really, really liked it. But his sincerity caught her off-guard (again) since she was used to sarcasm and jokes when it came to Travis Stoll.

"Well," he continued, "I guess you don't really care, then. But can you meet me behind Zeus cabin after dinner later?"

Katie blinked. "Um... sure thing, Travis."

"Yeah, okay," he agreed. "See you later."

And without waiting for an answer he walked away.

Katie watched him leave, still in shock from what had just happened. But (it might've been her imagination though) she thought she heard some sadness in his voice when he asked her to meet him after dinner.

XxXxX

Katie stood up from the Demeter table. She had just finished dinner. She hadn't seen Travis since that afternoon, and not even Connor could tell her where he was. After telling her siblings to go ahead, she sneaked off and headed for the Zeus cabin.


	2. Chapter 2: Late Night Conversation

**Son of Hermes, Daughter of Demeter**

**Chapter 2: Late Night Conversation**

Travis waited behind Zeus's cabin. He wondered if Katie would actually show up.

He sat down on some large rock he found behind the cabin. 'Maybe she just thinks I invited her here to prank her,' he thought. 'And now she won't come because I put bugs on their roof, and now she hates me.' Travis felt sick at the thought. Sure, they 'hated' each other, and they butted heads all the time, but he definitely didn't want her to actually _hate_ him. 'I'd kill myself if that ever happened,' Travis thought to himself.

Then he heard someone call his name. "Travis?"

His head snapped up. Standing there was Katie Gardner.

"Hey, Katie," he greeted her. He didn't stand up.

She sat down beside him. "So why did you ask me to meet you here?"

Travis looked at her. "Well, I wanted to... to tell you that..." He faltered. He had no idea how to say it. 'Damn! Why is this so hard?' he thought.

Katie raised her eyebrows. "Well, tell me, then."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Um… you see, it's… I..." Travis slapped himself mentally. He'd never be able to live through this. Then he had an idea.

"Katie, can you come with me… to the beach?"

She looked at him warily. "Why?"

"Oh, no real reason. I just think that it might be nicer there than just staying here." He didn't add that as long as she was with him, he'd be happy.

She considered it for a moment. "Okay."

He smiled. "Cool. Come on."

He stood up and offered his hand. "Let's go," he whispered. His eyes twinkled.

Katie wondered if she should trust him. But so far there hadn't been any practical jokes or pickpocketing (not that she'd brought anything to be pickpocketed). So she decided to take his hand and let him help her up.

"This better not be a joke, Stoll," Katie warned him.

He squeezed her hand. "Katie, I promise you, this isn't a joke, or prank, or anything like that." They looked at each other and locked eyes.

They continued to walk to the beach. Katie was dimly aware that Travis was still holding her hand. She was worried that they'd be caught out after curfew—actually, that _she'd_ be caught, and with Travis no less. People (especially those Aphrodite kids) would assume _things_. Certain _things_ that she would never get caught out for, especially with Travis Stoll. Maybe.

"Um, Travis, it's kinda late, and if we get caught..."

He grinned at her. "C'mon. Don't be such a goody-two-shoes! Besides, if you're with me, you'll never be caught."

Katie sighed, uneasy. "Yeah, but if people figure we were out of bed, on the same night…. They're gonna assume…."

Travis smirked. "Then let them assume."

Katie frowned.

Travis squeezed her hand (he was _still _holding it—_don't swoon, _Katie thought) and said, "Hey, Katie. It's okay. It doesn't matter."

"Well, fine… if you say so."

They stopped. "We're here," Travis said.

"This isn't the beach," Katie said, noticing their surroundings for the first time.

"No, it's not," Travis agreed. "It's better."

Travis pushed through some shrubbery and revealed a hidden path. "Come on. It's safe, nothing bad's gonna happen."

Katie didn't hesitate to follow him. He led her to a large, sprawling apple tree, with wide, sturdy branches and lots of the bright red fruit. Strangely enough, they could hear the sea.

"It's just here," Travis said. He pushed aside some concealing curtains of weeping willows' leaves to let her through. She stooped a little to pass underneath and when she emerged, the sight to behold made her catch her breath.

It was a grassy hilltop, on top of a brae. The apple tree provided shade and shelter for most of the area, but the exposed part jutted out, bathed in moonlight, and formed a small cliff overlooking a private, not-very-visited stretch of beach. Directly below the cliff were the smooth, still waters of the sea, dotted with sun-bleached white rocks. All the stars were out, showing off their various patterns of constellations, and nothing was to heard except the occasional gentle wave of the wind blowing, and the soft breath of one's companion, and you could smell the earthy scent of the dense greenery behind you and the salty scent of the sea down below where you were standing.

"Wow, Travis," Katie barely whispered. "How did you find this place?"

He walked up to her. "I was looting some snacks from the camp store, but I started to head back kinda late. I spotted a harpy, so I ran, and I found this place." Travis took a deep breath, taking in the view. "I spent the night here, eating the snacks and lying under the apple tree. It was incredibly peaceful."

"Wow," Katie whispered, again. "Does Connor know about this place?"

"No," Travis said, "No-one does. Just you and me—you're the first person I ever considered sharing this place with."

Katie inhaled deeply, breathing in the fresh ocean air. She was deeply flattered that Travis brought her here, just the two of them. They sat down at the edge of the cliff, letting their legs dangle over the edge.

"It's so peaceful here," Katie said to him quietly. "Such a beautiful sight."

"Yeah… a beautiful sight," he murmured absentmindedly. But he wasn't looking at the scenery. He was looking at the girl beside him.

"You know, Travis Stoll," she said. "You're actually alright. You're not so horrible after all."

He gave a small smile. "Well, you're not as annoying as I thought you were, Katie Gardner."

She actually scooted closer to him. "Hmm. Thanks."

Travis put an arm around her waist, and she laid her head on his shoulder. "Huh. This is actually… pretty nice."

"I never thought I'd hear you say that spending time with me was actually nice," Travis joked.

They sat in comfortable silence for a few more moments.

Then, Katie asked, "Travis? You were going to tell me something earlier."

"Oh, yeah." Travis suddenly became nervous. "Well, Katie, the reason I brought you here was because I wanted to tell you that…."

"Yes?" Katie asked eagerly.

"Um…." Travis felt as though his tongue had been glued to the roof of his mouth. He had no idea what to say, even though he knew _what_ he wanted to say, and he didn't know how to say it. "That… that… I'm sorry for putting bugs on your roof," he finally blurted out.

As soon as the words left his tongue he slapped himself mentally. If he was just gonna apologize, and apologize like _that, _as if he were leading her on, why bring her all the way here? It seemed more like he was trying to take her on a date-type kind of thing.

"Oh," Katie said. "Uh… I accept your apology, I guess."

She didn't know why she felt so disappointed; maybe it was the effect of the beautiful ambiance doing it. She didn't know what she had expected to hear, but she realized—just then—what she had wanted to hear. And it shocked her to know what it was.

"No!" Travis exclaimed. "That's not it!"

He looked really agitated. She wondered what exactly he was trying to say, because he was being extremely vague.

"I mean, I _am_ sorry for the prank, but what I really wanted to tell you is that I… I… that I lo—"

Katie still looked depressed.

It killed Travis inside to see her like that, especially in such a beautiful place. Maybe it was the scenic setting, or Travis' own feelings, pent up for so long, or both, that finally empowered him to actually do what he brought her here for.

"Katie, I'm sorry that I've been so confusing, but—" Here he hesitated. But he looked at her again and managed to will himself to continue—not for his own sake, but for hers.

"Travis, I also wanted to tell you—" Katie started.

"I'm in love with you," they said simultaneously. Their eyes widened at the same time, too.

"You…you love me?" Travis asked shakily.

"Yes," Katie said uncertainly. Then her expression became more determined. "Yes," she said again firmly. "Yes, I love you. _My gods,_ I love you." She started to laugh joyously. "Travis Stoll, I love you! I'm _in love_ with you!" She stood up and shouted into the quiet night. "I, Katie Gardner, am _in love with Travis Stoll!"_

Words could not express the ecstasy he felt as she said it, over and over. He grabbed her hands and locked her in a tight embrace.

"Katie, I love you. You have no idea how long I've been wanting to say that." He held her tighter. "I love you so much."

Travis could never get tired of telling her that, whether once, twice, or a thousand times a day.

"I love you too," Katie said.

"I heard." He smiled. "Actually, the whole camp heard. No, wait—the whole of Long Island heard you. Probably all the way to Brooklyn."

"I don't mind."

"Well, either way, I need to shout it too. We can't have anyone thinking your love is unrequited!" Travis faced out over the cliff. "I, Travis Stoll, am in love with Katie Gardner!" he yelled. He turned back to Katie. "Much better."

"Hmm, yeah," Katie mused. "But it's not the best."

"How isn't it the best? I mean, this is _me _you're talking about."

"Oh Travis," she mock-sighed. "You're just as bigheaded as ever."

"I can't help it. It's all true."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Travis."

"You know you agree."

She raised an eyebrow and smiled. "_Whatever_, Travis."

She put her arms around his neck. When she kissed him electricity seemed to flow through them, more than even Zeus could conjure.

When they finally broke apart Travis said, "Yeah, you're right." He kissed her again. "I could get used to this." They sat down together in the grass.

"Look," Travis said, pointing to the night sky. "All the stars are out tonight. Just for us."

"Yeah," Katie agreed. She pointed across the horizon. "The moon looks beautiful."

"Not as much as you do."

Katie giggled at the clichéd line.

"I'm not big on astronomy," said Travis, "but look. That's the North Star, and over there is the Big Dipper." He pointed somewhere else. "I'm also pretty sure that's Orion, and that one's that bear thing."

"It's called Ursa Major."

"I love you."

Katie leaned against his shoulder. "That was random."

"I'm stating a fact."

"You know, I was wondering," she said. "What brought all this on? I mean, like, just earlier I wanted to rip your throat out…."

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying you still want to?"

"No, of course not," she replied. "You know what, never mind. It doesn't really matter."

"Mmm, yeah," he murmured. "Are we gonna try sneaking back to our cabins?" Travis asked.

"No… besides, I'm kinda tired."

"But, like you said, people will assume things…."

"But, like you said, let them assume." Katie smiled. "I wanna sleep under the apple tree."

"Sure, why not?"

They sat together under the tree. Katie then fixed her gaze on an apple, which immediately fell and rolled into her open hand. She took a bite, then made another apple fall and handed it to Travis.

He watched with great interest. "I didn't know you could do that."

Katie took another bite of apple. "Demeter's the goddess of the harvest, and these apples are ripe for the picking."

They finished their apples and lay down on the grass.

"Good night, Katie," he said, and kissed her on the cheek.

"Good night, Travis."

And together they fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3: Boy Talk

**Son of Hermes, Daughter of Demeter**

**Chapter 3: Boy Talk**

"Dude!" Connor yelled at his brother. "Where were you last night?"

_Ugh_, Travis thought. _This is what I was worried about._

To Connor he said, "I stole some stuff from the camp store, but I saw a harpy, and I think she saw me, so I had to run. Just like last time."

"Fine, dude, but I heard the Demeter kids say Katie Gardner was gone too! Were you with her?"

"No," Travis answered a bit too quick. He didn't look at Connor.

"DUDE! You were _totally _with her! What did you do?"

Travis sighed. "Connor, dude, you're worse than the Aphrodite girls after they found out Percy asked Annabeth out. They tied her to a chair and demanded her to 'OMG spill all the juicy deets!'."

"Whatever, man! You didn't deny it, so you _were_ with her! _What did you do?"_

He grimaced at him. "Nothing that you're thinking, dude." He knew that look on Connor's face.

"You better tell me the truth, man," Connor said, "'cuz people are hearing you and Gardner were out for the night. And when you two showed up at breakfast at the same time, together, people started talking."

"What are they saying?"

"Um, some of the Aphrodite guys thought you two… did 'stuff'. Well, actually, some of the guys think so too. No, wait—all the guys do."

"They just _had_ to assume that? Was that the first thing they thought of?"

"Pretty much."

"Dirty minded freaks."

"You do know we're included there, right?" Connor glanced at his brother. "Anyway, the Aphrodite girls (and some of the others too) think you did some mushy, romantic thing and, I quote, 'totally swept her off her feet! So cute!'."

Travis sighed. "They just _have_ to talk about it?"

Just then Beckendorf and Percy walked up to them. "Yo, Travis, Connor," they greeted.

"Hey, guys," the twins said.

"So, Travis…" Percy started. "You and Katie, huh?"

Travis frowned. "Dude, first of all, before anyone says otherwise, we did _not_ do anything bad."

Beckendorf raised his eyebrows. "So you _were_ with her, then?"

"Well… yeah."

"Good going, man!" Percy said happily. "What did you do, then, if you didn't do 'stuff' like that?"

Travis groaned. "Perce, you sound just like Connor."

Percy gasped theatrically. "I can't believe you just insulted me so badly!"

"Hey!" Connor said indignantly.

"Well. Travis, what _did _you do?" Beckendorf asked. "I mean, I know it's not stuff like _that_ (not like a certain kelp-head here)—"

"Hey!" Percy protested. "I KNOW it's not _that_ stuff!"

"—well, anyway, I was just wondering," Beckendorf continued, ignoring Percy.

Travis rubbed the back of his neck. "We…we just went somewhere, like near the beach, and we just talked."

"What did you say?" Percy asked.

"Oh. We—we just talked about, um… stuff," he said awkwardly.

"Well, you should've said something romantic, or, like, asked her out," Percy said.

"Since when were you such a girl expert?" Beckendorf asked.

"Ha, that coming from a guy who took, what, three years to ask out one Silena Beauregarde?"

"Like you didn't take longer to ask out Annabeth."

"Oh, shut up, guys. Neither of you know a thing about girls," Connor said.

"And you're such a ladies' man?" Travis questioned sarcastically.

"Whatever, Travis." Connor frowned. "Dude, you're changing the subject."

"No I'm not," he said, trying to look innocent, and failing miserably. "You guys were the ones who changed it."

Connor rolled his eyes, and Percy and Beckendorf looked at Travis knowledgeably.

"You're a hopeless case, you know that?" Connor said.

* * *

**Sorry if the chapter's kinda short... anyway, I hope you liked it, and I'll probably be updating within the next 2 weeks, or a little later, as I'm very busy right now. Also, I when I checked my e-mail earlier I was so shocked to find the entirety of my inbox flooded with e-mails from , from people reviewing and/or putting the story in their alerts or favorites. Thank you to everyone who faved/reviewed; I really appreciate it and you've just Made My Day! :D**


	4. Chapter 4: Girl Talk

**AN: Hey everyone! I posted on the last chapter that I would post within the next two weeks, but I managed to post within 5 days! :D Anyway, without further ado, the next chapter of...**

**Son of Hermes, Daughter of Demeter**

**Chapter 4: Girl Talk**

"Katie! Katie!"

She turned around and found her half-sister Miranda staring at her. "What is it, Miranda?"

"I heard you went _somewhere_ with Travis when you were gone last night! Were you really with him?"

"Um… yeah… kind of."

"Oh my gods! Wait, wait, before you dish out the details lemme call Silena, and Ariana, and Felicity…." She immediately ran for the Aphrodite and Apollo cabins.

Katie sighed. Miranda and Felicity (daughter of Apollo) spent time with Silena and Ariana, both from Aphrodite, and it seemed that they'd rubbed off on those two.

In a few moments Miranda returned, with three girls in tow.

"Ohmygosh, Katie!" Ariana exclaimed. "Give us the juicy deets!"

"Charlie told me he talked to Travis and Connor a bit earlier," Silena said. "So, spill!"

"There's nothing to spill," Katie said abruptly. "All we did was go to this place near the beach and talk."

"Ooh!" Silena squealed. "That's so sweet of him!"

"What?" Katie didn't see how she had thought of that, based on what she said.

"Well," Ariana said, "I bet he took you to some secret, hidden place with a beautiful view of the beach, and he declared his undying, eternal love he's harbored in secret for you for years, and then you declared _your_ undying, eternal love you've harboured in secret for him for years, and you kissed each other and spent a romantic night under the stars and over the beach!"

Katie was speechless. _How did she know? _She gaped.

"Katie, you're so funny!" Ariana said. "Mom told me and Silena the details after Miranda told us you were with him. But don't worry! She told us to keep quiet, but we would do that even if she didn't say so!"

"Oh my gods. Aphrodite's on my case?"

"Yeah!" Silena said, flipping her black hair over her shoulder. "Mom said you two were one of the cutest couples in camp, and she couldn't wait for last night, to see what you would do. She said you two are right up there with Percy and Annabeth—"

"Don't forget you and Beckendorf," Felicity said happily. "Aphrodite said she was really happy for you two, remember? She said you guys were absolutely perfect together."

"Well," Silena said, smiling and blushing.

"Don't deny it, Silena—or should I start calling you Mrs. Beckendorf?"

Silena blushed harder, but she was still smiling. "Stop it, Felicity!"

Felicity grinned. "You know you enjoy it deep down! You two are such lovebirds!"

"Well, later I have a date with Charlie! I'm really excited." Silena smiled wider, her brown eyes brightening.

Felicity smiled smugly. "I told you!"

"Anyway," Miranda said, "what else happened? Tellustellustellus!"

"Actually, I think you already told it all," Katie said.

"No!" Miranda said loudly. "There's more!"

People stared at her weirdly. Then they realized who she was sitting next to.

"Stop yelling," Katie said. "People are looking."

"Let them look," Ariana said. "I wanna know every little detail! Every word you said! Exact quotes!"

Katie sighed in exasperation. "You can't seriously expect me to memorize every single thing we said, do you?"

"We just wanna know what happened," Miranda said.

"_Why?_ I wanna know why you _want_ to know!" Katie exclaimed.

"Because, well, you know," Felicity said.

"No, I don't know," Katie said shortly.

"Well… It's 'cuz you, like, totally hated Travis, and people knew about that, believe me," Miranda said.

"Okay," Katie said, remembering that one time she chased Travis around the pavillion after he played a prank on her involving sunny-side-up eggs, glue, and purple dye.

"And, even if they knew you hated him, some Aphrodite girl was talking about how much more peaceful it would be if you two were friends."

Katie raised an eyebrow.

"Anyway, the story somehow spread, but it got mangled, and one version said that you and Travis were secret lovers, but both of you wanted to keep up your image, so you just pretend to hate each other. But when you're alone, you're totally in love and falling head over heels for each other."

"That is absolutely ridiculous!" Katie huffed. "Wait a minute. Back up. There are _versions? _As in, the plural?"

"Well, kinda," Silena said. "We don't know many of the others, though. But I don't think you'd like to hear one that some guy made up…When I heard it, I didn't believe it at all."

"Where'd you hear that one?"

"Charlie told me… Trust me, you don't wanna know."

"Okay, I won't ask," Katie said. "But, I think, ew."

"You're absolutely right." Silena grimaced.

"What is it?" Felicity asked curiously.

"No. You _really_ don't want to know."

"Alright, alright…"

"Anyway," Katie said, "please, just don't tell anyone, guys. I know that you think it's sweet and all, but I don't think other people should know about it just yet."

"Sure thing, Katie," Silena said. "It's cool. Hush-hush!" She held a finger up to her lips.

"Thanks, guys," Katie said gratefully. "At least you understand."

And together, the girls walked into the mess hall.

* * *

**AN: Hope you liked the chapter! It might take me much longer to post the fifth chapter, though, as I haven't started writing it yet, and my exams are coming up. But, as always, constructive criticism is much appreciated, thank you!**


	5. Chapter 5: Dating Advice

**Hi everyone! Sorry for taking so long, exams and inconsistent access to the computer did it. Oh, and my graduation practices :) Anywho, welcome again to...**

**Son of Hermes, Daughter of Demeter**

**Chapter 5: Dating Advice**

Travis sat down beside his brother at the Hermes table. He hadn't seen Katie all morning, aside from breakfast, because it had been a particularly busy morning. He had just finished offering some food to Hermes, and he couldn't wait to eat.

But even as he attacked the barbecue and boiled eggs, something whirled in a vortex around his mind. It had been nagging at his conscience since Percy and Beckendorf suggested that he should ask her out. Well, there was no doubt that he wanted to, and he would, except for one problem…

Travis had no idea where he could take her. He'd never really been outside of camp, and the only times he remembered being in the outside world was right before he turned thirteen, and the other, during the battle of Manhattan, both times when he wouldn't have been mapping out potential date venues.

His eyebrows furrowed at the thought, but he continued to eat. The eggs were too damned good to leave alone.

Connor stood up, already finished with his food. "C'mon man, eat faster! I've got a brilliant idea for a prank to play on the Aphrodite kids…"

Travis looked at him. "I'm still eating!" he protested, spewing crumbs. One of his siblings sitting across from him said "Ew!" and moved away.

"That's nice, dude," Connor said impatiently. "Eat faster!"

Travis pretended he was moving in slow motion.

"Fine. Don't listen," Connor said. "I'm leaving." Then Connor left.

Travis shrugged it off. He had to find a place where he could take Katie on a date. But how? They weren't allowed out unless they were going on a quest, or if they weren't staying year-round.

_No, that's not the problem,_ Travis thought. _I'm_ Travis Stoll! _Sneaking out is my specialty!_

_The problem is something else entirely,_ a small voice in his head told him. Whether it was his conscience, sign of schizophrenia, or some god that somehow managed to sneak into his head, Travis didn't know. The voice was right though. The problem was knowing where he could bring her. He didn't even exactly know what they were going to do on the date.

He tried thinking of ways to find a place. Ask someone? No, it would do no good for his image, so that was out of the question. Sneak out and look for somewhere? That was out of the question. It was quite a distance from camp, and to escape, find a suitable restaurant, and then sneak back to his bunk bed, without waking any of his numerous cabinmates, all within the span of after midnight 'til before four AM, was damn impossible. And what would he say to Connor? He couldn't think of anything else. Travis sighed. Asking someone would be his last resort.

"Um, I need to… ask you guys… something."

"What is it, Travis?" Percy asked impatiently.

I can't believe I'm doing this, Travis thought to himself. He slapped himself mentally, trying not to think how much this was bruising his ego.

"It's 'cause I need to… I've got a…" Ugh. He was mumbling. "Well, you see… I really wanna take Katie on a date but I have no idea where I can bring her 'cause I've never really been outside camp and I don't know any places where I could take her and I didn't know how I could find one so I decided to just try asking you guys," Travis said, without taking a breath in between.

"Whoa, slow down, man," Beckendorf said. "Please translate."

Travis took a deep breath. "I really wanna take Katie on a date but I have no idea where I can bring her 'cause I've never really been outside camp and I don't know any places where I could take her and I didn't know how I could find one so I decided to just try asking you guys."

"Well, I can see your problem here, Travis," Beckendorf said. "I think you should—"

"You could just sneak out and wing it," Percy interrupted. "You know, just get out for a bit and go to places on the fly."

Travis blanched. Beckendorf grimaced and said, "Percy, that's a terrible idea."

"Well… It was what I was planning to do with Annabeth before, but when she found out, she canceled the date and didn't agree to another one until I asked Chiron for permission."

"She's right," Beckendorf said wisely. "I went on a date with Silena like that once… It was great, but when we got back, the harpies were flying around, chasing us, trying to eat us all evening, until probably an hour before breakfast. So, in other words, don't do that."

"But…" Travis said. "It's _embarrassing_ to have to ask permission to go on a date! And from Chiron!"

"We know you wanna be Travis Stoll, prankster extraordinaire, master of stealing and whatever," Beckendorf said, "but Katie isn't gonna dig it, especially on your first date."

"Yeah," Percy chimed in. "She'd probably not agree to it, like Annabeth."

"Alright, alright," Travis said. "But do I _really_ have to ask Chiron?"

"Yes, you do!"

"Ugh, fine," he said, defeated. He turned to walk away. Then, he remembered something.

"Guys, you need to promise me."

"What?"

"Whatever has transpired here, will not reach anyone's ears, especially Katie's. Got it?"

"Okay." Then Percy mock-yelled, "Hey, Katie! Your boyfriend here's askin—mphf!"

"Shut up!" Travis said quickly, covering Percy's mouth. "She might hear!"

"Out here, on Zeus's Fist, in the middle of the forest?" Beckendorf said.

"Fine, whatever," Travis said, taking his hand off Percy's mouth.

"Finally!" Percy said, gasping for air. "You've taken off that smelly hand of yours! Do you know how much it stinks?"

"No, and it only stinks because we've been training all day and I haven't showered yet. Anyway, catch ya guys later."

"Sure thing, man," Beckendorf said.

"See ya," Percy said. They walked out of the forest, back to the cabins.

**Thanks for reading this so far! By the way, I'll appreciate ideas for their date; just leave 'em in the comments!**

**BTW, please don't favorite without reviewing.**


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